A Journey Full Of Thoughts

Category Archives: Travelling

Gorgeous, this dress. Lovely flower print that’s perfect for a nice summer day. Don’t the colors remind you of ice cream? Strawberry, blueberry, vanilla – yummy! There I was – a shopping mall in Prague – faced with a tough decision: To take or not to take? (I could still hear Dad shouting: “We’re leaving in half an hour!”) What to do? I loved this dress but it had one serious flaw: It didn’t fit me well. You can tell from the photo above that the dress had a quite low neckline. It’s intended for someone with a longer upper part of the body so that the smock part in the middle hung too low on me.

Still, I bought it. And took a needle and thread to get it fit me. I shortened the neckline, which didn’t call for much skill, the ruffles were so forgiving. I think that this is one of the easiest changes one can do to clothing. Everyone can do it. So if the low-cut neckline shows too much for your liking shorten the straps and it will be fine.

From the beginning I looked forward to Drake Circus Shopping Centre. I was so excited to go to Topshop and all the other clothing stores and brands I don’t have access to in Germany. I imagined it to be a great day of fun and delight.

Unfortunately, reality (again) didn’t measure up to my expectation although I’ve been trying hard to make it work. There was this girl R. with whom I shared my room but didn’t know before. We were put together because the boy I originally would have shared the room with somehow didn’t make it to the meeting point. The point is that she clung to me as if she were a little child. Always following me around, not making any decisions on her own, not doing anything on her own. No protest when I knew she wanted something else, no proposals on what she would like to do.

To sum up, she didn’t appear to have a will of her own – just like a delicate, empty doll, that could be tossed and kicked around. Truth to be told, in the beginning I was curious about how much I could push before she would put up some resistance. But soon I realized that she never resists. Never. That’s something I absolutely dislike. Where is her self-esteem?

Getting back to Drake Circus. I made some quite obvious hints that I didn’t want to be disturbed while shopping. That I took shopping serious and if she didn’t like that she should go with someone else. Well, all this preparation for nothing. When I moved around to look at a dress she followed me. Having her breathing down my neck made all my enthusiasm vanish. She didn’t take one look at the clothes, why the heck did she go with me?

In the end, I couldn’t concentrate on the clothes and my frustration grew. I told her to sit down somewhere and wait for me till I was finished. That worked. We met some friends who then left early for the dinner at an Indian restaurant some of us wanted to go to. R. knew I didn’t intend to go. And what did she tell me after the friends left? That she wanted to go the Indian, too. What? She also wanted me to go because she didn’t knew the way back to our hotel where they would meet up. Girl, I am the one with the terrible sense of orientation who always end up getting lost!

I politely pointed out that she could have gone with the friends we met earlier. Then I suggested that she could go back alone, I would even give her the map. I knew the way back because we walked the way several times before. But of course, she would never do anything on her own. Finally, I took pity on her, picked up a dress and a pair of earrings in a hurry and got her back to the hotel. And made sure that she knew that I wasn’t pleased.

At least the dress and the pair of earrings I picked up there are lovely. The fabric of the dress is so smooth and soft, it also has a kind of glow like a highlighter. I love to feel it against my skin. It’s an understated piece that I can imagine wearing for years!

The earrings are from Topshop. There was no way that I would leave England without having bought anything from there. When I just couldn’t find any clothing to my liking I bought this pair instead. These ear studs look gorgeous with my black hair! They’re big but also very elegant. And versatile!

If I had to choose between a digital camera and a cell phone, I would go for the camera. I even got one before my first cell. Maybe I’m just not the cell phone type. I really enjoy photography although I don’t actively pursue this kind of hobby. Instead, I like to take pictures whenever I go on a trip or somewhere unusual.

But I’m not one of those tourist photographers who snap a picture of everything just to show off at home: Hey, I was there! And I saw those! And this, too! Maybe it’s because I like drawing and painting but I cannot stop paying attention to the camera angle, to the composition, to the light. Therefore, the photos I took on the trip rarely show any people but landscape. It’s so much easier to take a good picture!

The best pictures are from a trip to the coast. I remember freezing like crazy because I had to walk through town while it was raining earlier that day. And thus my feet were soaked and icy cold. Horrible! I just wanted to head back to the Bed&Breakfast and curl up in bed after a really hot shower.

But I’m glad that I didn’t. For that day was really nice after that. I went to the coast and during the drive my feet didn’t feel the cold anymore (but they were still wet). The view was amazing! The sun was beginning to set, the light reflecting on waves, dark rocks gave a pretty contrast.

I was so engrossed in taking pictures that I again got wet feet when I shot the picture above. I didn’t watch the waves and then a bigger one came and I couldn’t jump back fast enough. Well, at least a got a nice picture of the wave crashing against the rock. Love the shapes there.

The combination of sky, silhouettes and sun is really pretty and an easy photo subject. Just make sure not to look into the light, use the screen of the digital camera instead.

The coast has lots of interesting subjects to photograph. Be it the relaxing play of waves, the sky with its clouds and sun. And if you’re bored with long shots, how about some macro photos? I really enjoyed my day at the coast and it’s been a long time since I actually felt that I got something pretty.

Seeing pictures and seeing the real thing, there’s a difference. In 2D Stonehenge looks impressive, huge stones raising their head high into the sky. I imagined to be overcome by a strange feeling, to be overwhelmed by its sheer age and size, to realize how small I am compared to it. I wanted to feel lost, to lose myself on this hill, to let my worries be carried away for a moment.

However, reality is sobering as I discovered on a school trip to England. Stonehenge is nothing more than a few old rocks on a big patch of grass. It certainly doesn’t help that fences obscure my view and flocks of tourists diminish any hope of enjoying myself in tranquility, either.

At least there were small audio guides for everyone, even in German, so that everyone could go at his own pace. Works well for me since I’m usually a bit slower than others. Nonetheless, I still had to wait for people to get back. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one waiting. Some odd birds were so nice to put on a little show to entertain bored tourists. They’re really funny. And odd. But the big bird at the right didn’t seem to be faced at all. A group of clowns, those birds.

In the end I went back with a smile on my lips. Stonehenge wasn’t too bad.